Time switch



July-28, 1970 BANATHY ET AL 3,522,393

TIME SWITCH Filed July 26, 1968 5 Sheets-Shet 1 July 28, 1970 E, D, B T ETAL 4 3,522,393

TIME SWITCH Filed July 26, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z59 9 /J.3 J2 f July 28,1970 E. D. BANATHY 3,522,393

TIME SWITCH 5 Shee ts-Sheet 5 Filed July 26. 1968 TIME SWITCH 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 26. 1968 \Z 9 j 2 au x H 0 MV a fl| /M 6 A W Lf@z M 2 A a 22 Filed July 26, 1968 E. D. BANATHY ET AL TIME" SWITCH 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,522,393 TIME SWITCH Eugene D. Banathy, Skokie, Edward F. Condon, IL, Oak Park, and Julius R. Rosenski, Chicago, Ill., and Robert K. Pileger, Miami, Fla., assignors to International Register Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed July 26, 1968, Ser. No. 747,970 Int. Cl. H01h 43/10 U.S. Cl. 200-38 14 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Switch contacts located between front and rear insulating frame sections are closed and opened by a rotatable switch operator that is driven in stepwise fashion by on and off trip levers that are alternately pivoted by switch on and off members adjustably mounted on and rotatable with a time driven dial that is located in a cavity in the front frame section. A manually rotatable dial is geared to the switch operator. The time dial and switch members can be moved axially outwardly to cause them to skip the trip levers. An insulating housing open on one side encloses the frame sections.

The time switch herein disclosed is an improvement over the time switch of Gallagher et al. US. Pat. 2,824,- 181, issued Feb. 18, 1958.

Among the objects of this invention are: To provide a time switch for turning on and off lights, radios, small electric appliances and the like at preselected times in a 24 hour period in a new and improved manner; to locate the switch contacts within an insulating frame; to employ a rotatable switch operator for sequentially closing and opening the switch contacts; to rotate the switch operator in a stepwise fashion by a pair of trip levers pivotally mounted on the frame; to pivot the trip levers for independent action against the biasing action of springs by switch on and off members adjustably mounted on and rotatable with a time driven dial; to employ a spring pressed dog to complete each step of the rotation of the switch operator; to rotate the switch operator manually; and to enclose the frame in an insulating housing.

According to this invention an insulating frame comprising front and rear sections has mounted therebetween stationary and movable switch contacts, the latter being carried by a resilient switch blade. A two lobe cam on a switch operator rotatably mounted between the frame sections engages the switch blade to close and open the contacts twice for each revolution of the switch operator. Formed integrally with the switch operator is a disc section that carries a pair of diametrically opposed teeth on each side. The teeth are inclined on one side to permit detents of pivotally mounted trip levers to bypass them in one direction and to engage the other side in the opposite direction under the urging of coil tension springs. The trip levers are sequentially pivoted by switch on and oh members adjustably monuted on and rotatable with a time driven dial. The time driven dial and the switch on and off members can be shifted axially to bypass the trip levers while the dial continues to rotate for time indicating and synchronous purposes. A spring pressed dog, slidable between the frame sections, cooperates with a four lobe cam on the switch operator to complete each step of its I0- 3,522,393 Patented July 28, 1970 tation. A manually operable dial is geared to the switch operator to close and open the switch contacts independently of and in accordance with operation thereof under the control of the time driven switch on and 0115 members. An insulating housing having an open side encloses the frame which closes the open side.

In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a top plan view at full size of a time switch embodying this invention. FIG. 2 is a view, in front elevation, of the time switch shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a view, in side elevation, of the time switch as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a view of a portion of the frame where the manually operable dial is located. FIG. 5 shows, diagrammatically, the circuit connections that can be employed in practicing this invention. FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2 and at an enlarged scale. FIG. 7 is an elevational view along the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 showing the relation between a motor driven pinion and the gear driven thereby. FIG. 8 is a view, in rear elevation, of the time driven dial shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 9 is vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a view at an enlarged scale similar to FIG. 6 to show more clearly certain details of construction. FIG. 11 is an elevational view of the time switch, the time driven dial havng been removed. FIG. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line 12-12 of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a view, similar to FIG. 11, with the front frame section removed in order to show the details of construction underneath it. FIG. 14 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line 14-14 of FIG. 13. FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along the line 15-15 of FIG. 13. FIG. 16 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line 16-16 of FIG. 13. FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the spring pressed dog used for completing a step in the rotation of the switch operator.

In FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 reference character 10 designates, generally, a time switch in which this invention is embodied. It includes a housing 11 of suitable plastic material that is provided with an inclined rectangular opening 12 at One side which is closed by an inclined frame of plastic insulating material which is indicated, generally, at 13. A two conductor cord 14 extends through an opening 15 in a top wall 16 of the housing 11 to permit connection to a suitable source of alternating current. As indicated in FIG. 5, a plug 17 is connected to the cord 14 for insertion in a conventional wall socket. The top wall 16 is provided with an opening 18 in which an outlet socket 19 is positioned. As shown in FIG. 5 the outlet socket 19 is arranged to receive a plug 20 that is connected to a timed device 21, such as a lamp, radio, small electric appliance or the like. The circuit is completed from the two conductor cord 14 to the outlet socket 19 through a stationary switch contact 22 and a movable switch contact 23 carried by a resilient switch blade 24. A two lobe cam 25, driven by a synchronous motor 26, is arranged to effect the closing and opening of the switch contacts 22 and 23 at certain preselected times as will be described hereinafter.

In FIG. 6 it will be noted that the inclined frame 13 of plastic insulating material is made up of a front frame section that is indicated, generally, at 29 and a rear frame section that is indicated, generally, at 30. The frame sections 29 and 30 are held in juxtaposed relation by a screw 30, FIG. 11.

The front frame section 29 has a circular cavity 31 within which there is positioned a time driven dial that is indicated, generally, at 32. The time driven dial 32 is divided, as shown in FIG. 2, into 24 hour divisions appropriately marked and is arranged to be rotated once each 24 hours. It is marked with the hours from noon to midnight and midnight to noon and is formed of suitable plastic. It is arranged to rotate relative to an index 33 on the face of front frame section 29 which indicates with respect to the time driven dial 32 the time of day or night. Molded integrally with the time driven dial 32 is a knob 34. Mounted on the rear side of the time driven dial 32, extending to the front over the periphery thereof and rotatable therewith, are an on switch member 35 andan off switch member 36 both formed of suitable plastic material.

As shown at the lower left corner of FIGS. 2 and 4 there is provided a manually operable dial 37 of suitable plastic a portion of which extends through an opening 38 in the front frame section 29. The dial 37 is arranged to be rotated with respect to an index 39 and carries indicia 40 to indicate the open or closed condition of the contacts 22 and 23. An arrow 41 on the face of the front frame section 29 below the dial 37 indicates the direction in which it should be rotated manually.

In FIGS. 6 and it will be noted that a central hub 43 is formed integrally with the knob 34 and is nonrotatably mounted on a knurled section 44 of a shaft 45 that is journaled in a bearing hub 46 that is integral with a metallic cup shaped gear 47. Gear teeth 48 are formed along the periphery of the gear 47 for meshing engagement and endwise slidable movement with respect to pinion teeth 49 at one end of a shaft 50 of suitable plastic. that is journaled in a bearing 51 in the rear frame section 30. At the other end of the shaft 50 a gear 52 is formed integrally therewith and it is arranged to be engaged by a pinion 53, FIG. 7, that is driven by the synchronous motor 26 which is suitably mounted on the rear side of the rear frame section 30. The gear 52 is arranged to be rotated at one revolution each 2 /2 hours by the pinion 53 which rotates one revolution each hour. It will be understood that other gear ratios can be employed so long as the arrangement is such that the time driven dial 32 rotates once each 24 hours. Interposed between the inner end of the central hub 43 and the juxtaposed portion of the bearing hub 46 of the metallic cup shaped gear 47 is a washer 54 which limits the extent to which the central hub 43 can be forced over the knurled section 44.

It is desirable to permit clockwise rotation of the time driven dial 32 manually for time setting purposes. Because of the high gear ratio from the synchronous motor 26, it is not feasible to provide for rotating the time driven dial 32 without taking this into account. For this purpose a wrap around spring 55 provides a one way clutch between the shaft 45 on which the time driven dial 32 is mounted and the bearing hub 46 that forms an integral part of the metallic cup shaped gear 47. As shown in FIG. 10 one end of the spring 55 overlies a reduced diameter section 46 of the hub 46 while the other end overlies a tapered hub section 56 of the shaft 45.

For a purpose that will be outlined in detail hereinafter the time driven dial 32 and shaft 45 are movable endwise from the position shown by full lines in FIG. 10 to the broken line position. To permit this endwise movement the bearing hub 46 is journaled in a bearing sleeve 59 that is formed integrally with the rear frame section 30. A flange 60 integral with the shaft 45 limits the inward movement of it relative to the rear frame section 30. Spaced grooves 61 and 62 are formed in the inner end of the shaft 45 for the purpose of positively positioning it as shown by full lines or in the alternate position as shown by broken lines. A spring wire 63, located behind ears 64, FIG. 13, is arranged to mesh with either the groove 61 or the groove 62 to permit endwise movement of the shaft 45. It will be understood that on application of sufficient endwise force to the shaft 45, the spring wire 63 is displaced from one or the other of the grooves '61 or 62 and seats itself in .4 the other groove on completion of the endwise shifting in one direction or the other.

In FIGS. 8 and 10 it will be seen that the on and off switch members 35 and 36 include radial arms 65 and 66 which extend from annular flexible discs 67 and 68 having their fiat sides 69 and 70 juxtaposed. Hub flanges 71 and 72 bear against ribs 73 on the central hub 43 and against the bottom wall 74 of the metallic cup shaped gear 47 respectively. An annular rib 75 on the metallic cup shaped gear 47 bears against an annular rib 76 on the flexible disc 68 with the arrangement being such that, as shown in FIG. 10, the discs 67 and '68 are flexed between their inner and outer peripheries and thus are placed somewhat under tension to act in a direction toward the rear side of the time driven dial 32. However, as shown, the front side of the annular disc 67 carries an annular rib 77 which is spaced from the rear surface 78 of the time driven dial 32. The arrangement is such that the on and off switch members 35 and 36 can be rotated relative to each other and relative to the time driven dial 32 to set with respect thereto the time at which the contacts 22 and 23 should be closed and subsequently the time at which they should be opened.

In FIG. 8 inclined ratchet teeth 81 are shown as being formed along the periphery of the rear side of the time driven dial 32. For illustrative purposes it is pointed out that there are ninety-six inclined ratchet teeth and that they extend radially from an annular rib 82 which surrounds the rear surface 78. Teeth 83 and 84 on the forward sides of the arms 65 and 66 are arranged to engage the inclined ratchet teeth 81 to the end that they are driven thereby on rotation of the time driven dial 32 by the synchronous motor 26. The radial arms 65 and 66 are sufli ciently flexible to permit the teeth 83 and 84 to ratchet past the teeth 81 on the rear side of the time driven dial 32.

Extending rearwardly from the on and off switch members 35 and 36 are detents 85 and 86, the latter being radially inwardly further than the former for the purpose of engaging, respectively, arms 87 and 88, FIG. 11, of on and off trip levers 89 and 90 that are formed of suitable plastic. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 the detent 85 has a curved side 91 for engaging the arm 87 of the on trip lever 89 and an inclined side 92 for clearing it after it has moved past. Similarly, the detent 86, FIG. 8, has a curved side 93 to engage the arm 88 and an inclined side 94 to clear it after the same has been passed.

As shown in FIG. 13 hubs 97 and 98 are formed integrally with the trip levers 89 and 90 and they are located in slots 99 and 100, respectively, in the rear frame section 30 for pivotal movement under the control of the detents 85 and 86 as they rotate past the arms 87 and 88. The slots 99 and 100 have inclined sides 101 and 102 to permit shifting of the trip levers 89 and 90 sidewise, for example to the position shown by broken lines for the trip lever 90 for a purpose that presently will be apparent. Lugs 103 and 104, FIGS. 11 and 14, are formed integrally with the trip levers 89 and 90 for receiving one end of each of coil tension springs 105 and 106 the other ends of which are secured to lugs 107 and 108 that are molded integrally with the front frame section 29. Coil tension springs 105 and 106 bias the trip levers 89 and 90 to the position shown in FIGS. 11 and 14. Arms 109 and 110 limit the pivotal movement of the trip levers 89 and 90 under the influence of the springs 105 and 106 by engaging a surface 111 on the rear frame section 30 as shown more clearly in FIG. 14.

In FIG. 13 there is illustrated, generally, at 114 a switch operator which carries the two lobe cam 25 for engaging the resilient switch blade 24 to effect closing and opening of the contacts 22 and 23. The switch operator 114 is formed of plastic and is rotatably mounted between the front and rear frame sections 29 and 30. As shown in FIG. 12 the two lobe cam 25 is arranged to engage the resilient switch blade 24 at 115 adjacent the movable contact 23. The switch blade 24 is located in a slot 116 that is formed in the rear frame section 30. The end of the switch blade 24 opposite the movable switch contact 23 is held captive between an extension 117 from the front frame section 29 and an extension 118 from the rear frame section 30 with the arrangement being such that the movable switch contact 23 normally is biased into contact engagement with the stationary contact 22 and to the position shown by broken lines in FIG. 12. The two lobe cam 25 engages the switch blade 24 at 115 twice during each revolution to lift the movable switch contact 23 out of engagement with the stationary switch contact 22. The stationary switch contact 22 is carried by a contact support plate 119 which is located in a slot 120, FIG. 13, in the rear frame section 30. A terminal section 121 extends rearwardly through an opening 122 in the rear frame section 30 to permit connection to a conductor. A conductor 123 is connected to the switch blade 24 as shown here in FIG. 13.

Referring again to the switch operator 114 as show in FIG. 13, it will be noted that it has journals 126 and 127 at its ends which are located in bearing slots 128 and 129 that are molded in the rear frame section 30. Just below the two lobe cam 25 there is located an integrally formed relatively narrow journal 131 that is positioned in a bearing slot 132 which is molded in the rear frame section 30. A hub 133, larger in diameter than the journal 131, extends there below and to the disc section 134 which is positioned between the distal ends of the on and off trip levers 89 and 90'. As shown more clearly in FIG. 14 pairs of diametrically opposite teeth 135 and 136 are provided on the under and upper sides, respectively of the disc section 134. The pairs of teeth 135 and 136 are inclined on one side as indicated at 137 and 138 to permit detents 139 and 140 at the distal ends of the trip levers 89 and 90 to bypass them. The leading edges 141 and 142 of the teeth 135 and 136 are arranged to be engaged by the detents 139 and 140, as the case may be, under the influence of the respective spring 105 or 106, FIG. 11, to rotate the disc section 134 and thereby the switch operator 114 through one step of its four step operation in rotating through a complete revolution.

Below the discsection 134 and formed integrally with the switch operator 114 is a four lobe cam 145 that is illustrated more clearly in FIG. 16. In order to complete each step for the one fourth revolution of the switch operator 114 for each pivotal movement of one or the other of the trip levers 89 or 90 a nose portion 146 of a spring pressed dog 147 of plastic is arranged to engage between adjacent lobes. The dog 147 has side flanges 148, FIGS. and 17, that are slidable in slot 149 that is formed jointly by the front and rear frame sections 29 and 30. Top and bottom flanges 150 of the dog 147 are slidable in a slot 151 that also is formed jointly by the front and rear frame sections 29 and 30. The dog 147 has a central bore 152 for receiving a coil compression spring 153 that extends outwardly and reacts against a wall 154 of the rear frame section 30.

In order to provide for manual closing and opening of the switch contacts 22 and 23 a pinion 157 is formed integrally with the journal 127 at the lower end of the switch operator 114. It will be understood that the journal 127 and the pinion 157 are molded separately from the remaining portion of the switch operator 114 and then are suitably joined thereto to provide a unitary construction. Thus the journal 127 and pinion 157 constitute a separate plastic part. The pinion 157 is arranged to mesh with a gear 158, FIG. 14, that is formed integrally with the manually operable dial 37. Thus, when the dial 37 is rotated, it rotates the switch operator 114 independently of its operation by the trip levers 89 and 90 and to the next position of the switch contacts 22 and 23.

Referring to FIG. 10, the full line showing of the time driven dial 32 corresponds to the operative positioning of the detents 85 and 86 for engaging and operating the trip levers 89 and 90. When it is desired that no operation of the switch contacts 22 and 23 take place, the knob 34 is grasped and is pulled outwardly to the broken line position in the direction indicated by arrow 159. This shifts the shaft 45 outwardly and displaces the spring wire 63 from the annular groove 61 and it then engages groove 62 to hold the detents and 86 out of operative engagement with the arms 87 and 88 of the trip levers 89 and 90. When the detents 85 and 86 pass the ends of the arms 87 and 88 in the withdrawn position shown by broken lines in FIG. 10, only a slight engagement with the arms 87 and 88 takes place but, due to the flexibility of the detents 85 and 86 and the tension applied by the springs and 106, no pivotal movement of the trip levers 89 and 90 takes place. When the automatic operation of the switch contacts 22 and 23 is to be resumed, the knob 34 and time driven dial 32 are moved inwardly to displace the spring wire 63 from the groove 62 and arrange for its reception in the groove 61.

Any suitable means can be employed for securing the housing 11 to frame 13. As shown in FIG. 12 mounting screw 160, which may be one of two mounting screws, extends into a boss 161 that is formed integrally with the rear frame section 30. It will be understood that the mounting screw 160 has a headed end and extends through a rear wall 162, FIG. 3, of the housing 11.

Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the relationship between certain axes of operation is illustrated. The axis of rotation of shaft 45 is indicated at 163 in FIG. 13. This axis is transverse to the front and rear frame sections 29 and 30. The axis of rotation of the switch operator 114 is indicated at 164 in FIGS. 13 and 16. It will be noted that the axis 164 is in a plane that the perpendicular to the axis 163 of the shaft 45. The axis 165 of pivoting movement of the hubs 97 and 98 of the trip levers 89 and 90 is parallel to the axis 164 of rotation of the switch operator 114.

In describing the operation of the time switch 10, it will be assumed that plug 17, FIG. 5, is inserted in a socket that is energized with alternating current at suitable voltage and frequency. For example, the voltage may be volts and the frequency 60 Hz. The plug 20 is inserted in the outlet socket 19 and the time device 21 is prepared for energization or deenergization, depending upon whether the switch contacts 22 and 23 are opened or closed or are in the off or on position. The time driven dial 32 is rotated in a clockwise direction to position it with respect to the index 33 to show the time of day or night that the time switch 10 is set so that from then on the actual time will be indicated. The knob 34 then is briefly held against rotation and the on and off switch members 35 and 36 are shifted in clockwise directions to the desired times at which the switch contacts 22 and 23 are to be closed and to be opened. Assuming that the first operation is closure of the contacts 22 and 23, the synchronous motor 26 continues to drive the dial 32 and therewith the on and off switch members 35 and 36 until the detent 85, FIG. 11, which is radially outwardly further than the detent 86, engages the arm 87 of the trip lever 89. Continued movement of the detent 85 carries with it the trip lever 89 and the detent 139 rides up the inclined side 137 of the adjacent tooth while the spring 105 is tensioned. The movement continues until the detent 139 passes beyond the opposite side 141 of the tooth 135 and then the trip lever 89 shifts from the previously sidewise displaced position to a position registering with the side 141. At this time the detent 85 has bypassed the arm 87. There is no longer any restraint on the trip lever 89 and the spring 105 then acts to return it to the non operated position or to the position shown for the trip lever 90 in FIG. 14. This is accompanied by rotation of the switch operator 114 together with rotation of the four lobe cam which moves the spring pressed dog 147 out of its position between adjacent lobes and causes it to enter between the next pair under the influence of the coil compression spring 153 which has suificient force to complete the quarter revolution of the switch operator 114 and to rotate the two lobe cam 25, FIG. 12, to the broken line position where the contact 23 is permitted to move into engagement with the stationary contact 22 and complete the circuit for the timed device 21. No further action takes place automatically until the detent 86 engages the arm 88 of the off trip lever 90 as the result of which the foregoing sequence of operations is repeated and the switch operator 114 is rotated through another quarter revolution accompanied by rotation of the two lobe cam 25 to the position shown by full lines in FIG. 12 and separation of the movable contact 23 from the stationary contact 22. Thereupon the timed device 21 is deenergized.

For manual operation the dial 37, FIG. 14, is rotated in the direction of the arrow 41, FIG. 2, to rotate the switch operator 114 independently of its rotation under the control of the detents 85 and 86 as previously described. It will be understood that, if the contacts 22 and 23 are engaged at the time that the manually operable dial 37 is rotated to the off position, the next automatic operation normally would be by the detent 86. However, when it pivots the off trip lever 90 in the manner described, its detent 140 will not have for operation one or the other of the teeth 136. Thus, only the off trip lever 90 will be operated but there will be no corresponding rotation of the switch operator 114.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A time switch comprising a frame,

a time driven dial rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch on and switch off members rotatable with said dial,

a switch operator rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch contacts operated by said switch operator,

an on trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch on member to close said switch contacts,

an of? trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch off member to open said switch contacts,

said switch operator including a disc section located between said trip levers and having teeth on opposite sides,

said teeth being inclined on one side to permit detents on said levers to bypass said teeth when said levers are pivoted by said on and off switch members and then to engage the opposite sides of said teeth, and

a spring individual to each lever tensioned as it is pivoted by the switch member individual thereto for rotating said switch operator to its next position after disengagement by the respective switch member.

2. A time switch according to claim 1 wherein said switch on and switch off members are individually adjustable about said dial to close and open said contacts at various times.

3. A time switch according to claim 1 wherein said dial is shiftable axially to move said switch on and switch off members to inoperative positions with respect to said on and off trip levers. 1

4. A time switch according to claim 1 wherein there are two diametrically located teeth on each side of said disc section.

5. A time switch according to claim 4 wherein said switch operator includes a symmetrical two lobe cam for closing and opening said switch contacts twice during each revolution.

6. A time switch according to claim 5 wherein said switch operator includes a symmetrical four lobe cam, and

a spring biased dog slidable on said frame is arranged to enter the space between adjacent lobes to complete rotation of said switch operator to its next position.

7. A time switch comprising an insulating frame including front and rear frame sections,

a time driven dial rotatably mounted on said frame,

switcl'; on and switch off members rotatable with said dia a switch operator rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch contacts located between said frame sections and operated by said switch operator,

an on trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch on member to close said switch contacts,

an off trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch off member to open said switch contacts, said switch contacts including a stationary contact and a movable contact carried by a resilient blade, and

extensions from said front and rear frame section engaging said blade at spaced locations therealong and biasing said movable contact into engagement with said stationary contact.

8. A time switch according to claim 7 wherein said trip levers are mounted on said rear frame section,

and

a spring connected to said front frame section is connected to each trip lever for biasing it to operate said switch contacts.

9. A time switch according to claim 7 wherein said front frame section has a cavity within which said time dial is located, and

a housing open at one side encloses said front and rear frame sections.

10. A time switch according to claim 1 wherein a manual operator on said frame is connected to said switch operator for manually closing and opening said switch contacts.

11. A time switch according to claim 10 wherein said switch operator includes a pinion, and

said manual operator is a dial rotatably mounted on said frame and includes a gear meshing with said pinion.

12. A time switch comprising a frame,

a time driven dial rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch on and switch off members rotatable with said dial,

a switch operator rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch contacts operated by said switch operator,

an on trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch on member to close said switch contacts,

an off trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch off member to open said switch contacts,

means mount s'aid switch operator to rotate about an axis in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said time dial, and

means mount said trip levers to rotate about an axis parallel to said axis of said switch operator.

13. A time switch comprising a frame,

a time driven dial rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch on and switch off members rotatable with said dial,

a switch operator rotatably mounted on said frame,

switch contacts operated by said switch operator,

an on trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch on member to close said switch contacts,

an oif trip lever pivotally mounted on said frame and operable by said switch off member to open said switch contacts,

said switch on member including an annular flexible disc spaced from said time driven dial,

said switch off member including an annular flexible disc juxtaposed to said annular flexible disc of said switch on member, and

a member rotatable with said time driven dial including an annular rib bearing against said annular flexible disc of said switch off member and holding both annular flexible discs in flexed condition toward said time driven dial.

14. A time switch according to claim 13 wherein said time driven dial, said switch on and off members and said member including said annular rib are shiftable unitarily and axially to move said switch on and off members to inoperative positions with respect to said on and oil trip levers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Gallagher. Stolle.

Schultz et al. Rose. Buckeridge et al. Rulseh et a1.

10 HERMAN O. JONES, Primary Examiner 

